Identification of Policy Gaps As a Tool of Improving Organization Performance: a Case of Employment Policy Among Cotu Affiliates
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KENYATTA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION IDENTIFICATION OF POLICY GAPS AS A TOOL OF IMPROVING ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE: A CASE OF EMPLOYMENT POLICY AMONG COTU AFFILIATES KENNETH ODINGA C153/CTY/PT/26725/2011 A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO THE SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF PUBLIC POLICY AND ADMINISTRATION KENYATTA UNIVERSITY November, 2015 i DECLARATION This project is my original work and has not been presented for a degree in any other university. Signature _________________ Date ________________ Odinga Kenneth Ondijo C153/CTY/PT/26725/2011 This project has been submitted with our approval as the university supervisors Signature ________________ Date _____________ Dr. Felix Kiruthu Department of Public Policy and Administration Kenyatta University Signature ______________ Date ______________ Mr. Weldon Ngeno Department of Public Policy and Administration Kenyatta University ii ABSTRACT Employment policies can directly influence the performance of the organisation and in turn impact the performance of an organisation. Despite the Employment Act of Kenya of 2007, there is still a high unemployment rate of 40% in general and 70% among the youth. The study was conducted at trade unions affiliated toCentral Organisation of Trade Union (COTU), Nairobi. The study sought to establish factors influencing identification of policy gaps at the trade unions affiliated to COTU, Nairobi. The research was used to determine the relationship between identification of policy gaps and the organisational performance at the trade unions affiliated to COTU.The study used the Classical Theory of Employment (CTE) by Keynes (1936) which states that; if market forces are allowed to operate in the economic system, it eliminated over production and make the economy produce output at the level of full employment. The researcher sought to determine the challenges of identifying policy gaps in the employment policy.The study was justified because;the implementation of an employment policy could have a significant impact on a performance of an organisation. The findings of this research were significant because it would help scholars undertaking studies in the areas of organisational performance and the public policy. Study results could assist the government in the areas of planning for employment policy. The research findings, which was performance of an organisation was important to enable it stay afloat in the wake of stiff competition and that organisation stand or fall on the premise of how effective and relevant employment policies are implemented and that proper implementation of good employment policies can determine the performance of an organisation, the study was also important because it was instrumental in the attainment and actualization of the sustainable development goals. The findings were also instrumental to the policy makers and stakeholders in drafting employment policies that would benefit the trade unions affiliated toCOTU as organisations and Kenya as a country. The research was based on a descriptive survey design where systematic sampling technique was used to select the respondents for the questionnaires; the study population was picked from the 40 affiliated trade unions of COTU (K). The socio-economic factors included; demographic characteristics, the level of education, and the marital status iii TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION ....................................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ............................................................................................................................. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... iv ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ................................................................................. vi LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. vii DEFINITION OF OPERATIONAL TERMS ....................................................................... viii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 1 1.1 Background of the study ............................................................................................. 1 1.2 Statement of the problem ................................................................................................. 4 1.3 Objectives of the study ..................................................................................................... 4 1.4 Research premises ............................................................................................................ 5 1.5 Justification and significance of the study ....................................................................... 5 1.6 Scope and limitations of the study ................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW AND THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK ........... 7 2.0 Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 7 2.1Policy gap and Understanding policy actors ..................................................................... 7 2.2 Employment policy .......................................................................................................... 8 2.3 Employment policy and organisational performance....................................................... 9 2.4 Effect on performance .................................................................................................... 10 2.5 Integration of Performance and Culture ......................................................................... 10 2.6 Challenges of employment policy .................................................................................. 12 2.7 Theoretical framework ................................................................................................... 14 2.8 Conceptual framework ................................................................................................... 15 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY ................................................................................ 17 3.0 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 17 3.1 Research Design ............................................................................................................. 17 3.2 Study Population ............................................................................................................ 17 3.4 Data collection................................................................................................................ 18 3.5 Pilot Study ...................................................................................................................... 18 3.6 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................. 19 3.7 Data Management and Ethical Considerations ............................................................. 19 CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, PRESENTATION AND INTERPRETATION ..... 20 iv 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 20 4.2 Questionnaire return rate ................................................................................................ 20 4.3 Demographic characteristics of the respondents ............................................................ 20 4.3.1 Distribution of Respondents by Age ....................................................................... 20 4.3.2 Marital status of the respondents ............................................................................. 21 4.3.3 Distribution of respondents by level of education ................................................... 22 4.4.3 Employment Policy and Organizational Performance ............................................ 28 4.3.4 Challenges of identifying Policy gaps in the employment policy ........................... 30 4.4 Discussions ................................................................................................................ 39 5.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 40 5.2 Summary of findings ................................................................................................. 40 5.4 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 41 5.5. Recommendations of the study ................................................................................. 42 5.5.1 Recommendation for policy makers .................................................................. 42 5.6 Suggestions for further research ............................................................................ 42 1. REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 43 APPENDICES ......................................................................................................................... 47 Appendix I: Introductory letter ...........................................................................................